A Louisiana woman who developed kidney failure after taking Nexium for more than a year has filed a new lawsuit accusing AstraZeneca of concealing the drug’s renal side effects. Alice Donald claims that she never would have used the proton pump inhibitor had those risks been properly disclosed.

The case is just the latest entry into a growing litigation involving proton pump inhibitors and serious kidney complications. The manufacturers of Prilosec, PrevAcid and Dexilant are also facing similar claims.

Nexium Lawsuit Allegations

According to her December 22nd filing in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana, Donald was prescribed Nexium in September 2014, and used it continuously until April 2016. Her lawsuit claims that Donald now suffers from kidney failure as a result of her continuous use of Nexium, leaving her with severe, permanent and disabling injuries. She further claims that proton pump inhibitors have been linked to numerous reports of kidney injuries since 2004.

“These reports of numerous kidney injuries put Defendants on notice as to the excessive risks of kidney injuries related to the use of Nexium,” the complaint states. “However, Defendants took no action to inform Plaintiff or Plaintiff’s physicians of this known risk. Instead, Defendants continued to represent that Nexium did not pose any risks of kidney injuries.”

Donald also cites a number of recent studies which suggest an association between proton pump inhibitor use and an increased risk of chronic kidney disease, kidney failure, acute interstitial nephritis, and acute kidney injury.

“Despite clear knowledge that Nexium causes a significantly increased risk of CKD and acute kidney injuries, Defendants continued to market and sell Nexium without warning consumers or healthcare providers of the significant risks of CKD and acute kidney injuries,” the complaint continues.

Proton Pump Inhibitor May be Centralized

Prescription and over-the-counter proton pump inhibitors are used by millions of people to treat peptic disorders such as GERD. Plaintiffs who have filed kidney injury lawsuits over Nexium and other drugs in this class are seeking to have all federal claims of this nature centralized in a single U.S. District Court for the purposes of coordinated pretrial proceedings. They maintain that hundreds of additional filings are likely, and assert that consolidation in a single jurisdiction will improve judicial efficiency. However, the manufacturers of Nexium, Prilosec, PrevAcid and Dexilant have voiced opposition to the proposal. The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) is schedule to address the matter at its January 26th Hearing Session.

The nationwide law firm of Bernstein Liebhard LLP is actively filing kidney injury lawsuits involving proton pump inhibitors. If you are interested in pursuing such a case on behalf of yourself or a loved one, please call (888) 994-8177 to obtain a free, no-obligation legal review.

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